The Wizard Games
by mattmorales225
Summary: Voldemort has forced twenty four students that attend Hogwarts in to and arena to fight to the death until only one victor remains as punishment for trying to fight against him during the war.
1. Chapter 1

As I rise out of the ground on a metal plate I quickly take in my surroundings. I am standing in a circle with twenty three other tributes. They were once my friends, peers, or maybe just acquaintances, but now they are tributes and they all have to die if it means my survival. I notice that the Cornucopia placed in the center of the circle is filled with magical items that could help me during the Games, but also some muggle weapons which strikes me as strange. My mentor, Professor Flitwick, told me to run away as soon as I could. There was sure to be a bloodbath, and I do not think I can get out of it. I intend to follow his instructions, but then I notice it. My wand. The potential key to my survival. I have to go get. It could change the course of the Games in my favor. The gong sounds and I sprint the fastest I ever have. Even faster than when I was running away from the death eaters in the Department of Mysteries. I grab my wand before anyone has the chance to off me. As I turn to run I collide with someone.

It's Neville. He has his own wand and is pointing it right at me. He would never attack me though right? He would not hurt me? But these are The Wizard Games. Everything is different, it is kill or be killed you have no choice.

"Neville," I say slowly backing away from him just incase. His eyes soften as I say his name.

"Luna, you shouldn't be so trusting. It could get you killed," I know that he will not hurt me. We form an alliance. It is nice to have someone that I know I can trust. But as we were talking some of the other tributes have caught up with us. We dart towards the woods dodging green light. I have trouble believing that some of our friends could possibly be using Unforgivable Curses, but it must be happening. Everyone is desperate. Desperateness makes people do irrational things.

As we are running spells are barely missing us. Some of them are landing right where my feet had been moments ago. I sustain minor lacerations from the bushes and branches. Neville is worse though. He has a bloody nose and some deep cuts on his face from running straight into the limbs of trees. When Neville and I arrive in a clearing after six hours of traveling we rest feeling confident we have put enough space between the two of us and the bloodbath. I look at Neville's cuts more closely. They are not too bad but should probably be healed with magic.

"Do you want me to fix those for you?" I ask gesturing to the cuts and his nose.

"Could you?" he asks looking a little worried.

"Sure, I've done several toes and how different are they really? Episkey!" With a loud crack Neville's nose goes back into place and the cuts start to heal. He looks at me scornfully. Apparently it had hurt.

It was getting dark and the cannons started to fire.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Six people died on the first day. As if that was not bad enough the faces of the fallen come next. Cho Chang my fellow Ravenclaw, Katie Bell who played Quidditch with Harry, Colin Creevey the boy in my year that always had his camera, Fleur Delacour who had been talented enough to be picked for the Triwizard Tournament, and Parvati Patil my roommate's twin sister are all gone. It is awful. I had known so many of them.

"Lumos," said Neville quietly, "in memory of the fallen" He raised his wand in the air. I do the same as well. "Its awful," Neville says looking down. I can see he is upset. "I can't believe Voldemort is forcing us into this arena. I thought he had harmed us enough. Plenty of people died in the war! That isn't enough though. He has to force us to kill each other!" I let Neville got on his rant, even though I know I should stop him. If someone is hiding nearby they can probably hear Neville's screaming. Neville stops mid-sentence and then turns quickly and points his lit wand tip right into the face of a frightened Hannah Abbot.


	2. Chapter 2

"I-I...I just saw the..." she breaks down crying. "please can I join you?" she says as she wipes away her tears. I know that it is dangerous to add an extra person to the alliance but Hannah and Neville have always kind of had a relationship because of their common interest in Herbology. I look and Neville and we come to a silent agreement. I nod my head.

"Oh thank you Luna! I've just been so scared and I saw... I saw Colin die. We joined up at the Cornucopia because he was all alone and I felt bad, but when we got into the woods an acromantula got him. I barely got away."

" Oh Hannah that is awful, but we have to remember that we are still in the Games... We can't let the terrors we see get in the way of our survival. We need to think of our next move. I think it would be smart to stay here because it is getting dark and we might not find another place to stay." Said Neville. I can tell he is going into survival mode. Does that mean he'll kill if it means living?

"Yeah but we don't have a lot of cover here, I mean I found you guys pretty easily, did I not?" Protests Hannah. If she is going to have this kind of know it all attitude I'm not sure how well we will work together. Neville and Hannah go on debating whether or not it is a good idea to have us stay or to have us go. They both had valid points, but they were making a lot of noise. I star think about possible solutions, but end up coming to a sad conclusion. It doesn't matter what we do. We are still in the Games, and we are still in danger of losing our lives regardless of what we do. It is silly of us to think that one choice would make us safer than the other. We're in the Games and it is hopeless.

"Why don't we just stay here," I suggest in defeat."We need to get some rest and traveling would only drain us more, and it's already dark."

"Fine! Agree with Neville! I know the two of you have a thing anyway!" Hannah yells angrily. I look at Neville uncomfortably. We don't have anything going on between us, or maybe we do I'm not sure, I think nargles have something to do with the confusion, but I don't like the fact that Hannah is getting so angry. It makes her a potential threat. Angry people are just as irrational as desperate people.


	3. Chapter 3

I agree to take the first shift. The entire time I hear noises and footsteps. I don't know who is making the noises or whose footsteps they are, but they make me uncomfortable. There is probably a bunch of creatures in the forest that could be potential danger not to mention the tributes that could be five feet from me. It is too dark to see anything but I don't want to light my wand because it could give away where we are. As the night wears on I fall asleep. I'm awoken by the sound of a branch braking. It's a person, and they're close. As I listen more closely I can distinguish three pairs of feet. I crawl over to Neville and Hannah as quietly as I can.

"I think there are three people in the clearing behind that cluster of bushes." I whisper, my mouth only inches away from his ear. He sits up quickly and shakes Hannah awake. She jumps up frighten but Neville holds a finger to his lips and points to where the noise comes from. Luckily she understands. The three of us crawl up to the bushes and we see three outlines. My stomach drops as my eyes adjust to the dark and the faces come into focus. It's Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. I can tell that Neville angry and he wants to attack, I'm not sure about Hannah because I don't know her as well but I think she would follow Neville's lead if he chose to attack. Before I have the chance to discuss possible strategies with the two of them Neville runs out into the clearing. He is in survival mode. He will kill to survive Hannah looks at me and then runs out as well.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Neville yells. The spell hits Crabbe right in the chest. There is blood lust in his eyes. It scares me. I never once thought that he would to do this to someone. A cannon fires. I see a flash of green shoot out of Hannah's wand too. She was aiming for Goyle but missed. Goyle dives behind, but not before he hits Hannah with his killing curse. Another cannon fires. I run over to Hannah, but it is obviously too late. She is gone. We need to run. I don't want Neville getting hurt. But I am too late. He already is hurt. As I was kneeling next to Hannah a spell from Draco's wand hit him in the chest. I shoot a stunning spell at Draco but he is already in the trees with Goyle. Neville is lying on the ground with blood soaking the front if his shirt. I rip it off as quickly as I can. There is blood everywhere. Draco used that curse from the potions book Harry had in his sixth year, the one that belonged to the half-blood prince.

"Episkey," I whispered hoping the wounds would come together like they did when we first got into the woods. "Episkey!" I scream. The desperateness is audible in my voice. The lacerations won't close though. My efforts are futile. He looks up at me with sad eyes. He knows he is dying.

"Luna, thank you. For everything. For being there when no one else was. For boosting my confidence. I love you. I love you in every sense of the word and I regret not telling you what could've been if I told you sooner. I'm sorry." Tears start pouring out of his eyes. I wipe them away. I lean in close to his ear.

"It's okay," I whisper. "I love you too. And I don't regret you not telling me sooner. It is enough that you told me now. It is enough that I know." As I move my mouth away from his ear the cannon fires. He is gone. I'm alone.


	4. Chapter 4

I meander through the forest by myself. I'm not aiming to go anywhere or do anything. Just forget. Forget that I just held Neville while he died. Forget that I wasn't quick enough to save Hannah. Forget that I am in the Games and there is no way out except dying or killing others. I'm going to have to do it. I'm going to have to kill. For Neville. I'm in survival mode.

I don't even know how long I've been walking but eventually I sit at the base of a tree in defeat. The reality of Neville and Hannah hits me like a stunning spell to the chest. Forgetting is not working anymore. I'm overcome with sobs, my body shaking violently. If a tribute where to come by they could easily kill me. But I don't care because I lost Neville. He loved me. And I loved him too. We could be together again.

A noise brings me back to reality. Not a horrifying branch breaking signaling that someone is nearby. It's a beautiful sound. A song started by a single bird then slowly picked up by the others. I realize in a mixture of surprise and horror that they're mimicking my sobs. Something that was filled with so many negative emotions was turned into something beautiful. I see a couple of the birds flutter from branch to branch above me. They give me hope as I trace their shape in the dirt. They need a name. Potterjay. Because Harry gave us hope during the war, and they are giving me hope now in the Games. I stand up and wipe the tears away. I need to start doing something, I'm in survival mode. I start to set up camp. As I do something unexpected happens. The faces of the fallen light up the night sky. I didn't realize how long I was walking around the woods, but apparently it was almost the whole day. Cormac Mclaggen, Angelina Johnson, Crabbe, and Padma Patil come first. My heart wrenches when I see Padma's face in the sky. We were roommates and she was one of the few people that was kind to me. I will miss her. But the faces that come after Padma are even worse than I expected. Hannah and Neville's faces light up the sky. The sobs start again. I see each of them die again and again, along with the sobs come the Potterjays. But something sounds different. There is a deeper sound in the background, like someone pounding on drums. But then I realize its hooves. What creatures have hooves? I think back to Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. I don't have anymore time to think of possible answers though, because a wall of fire appears about 100 feet in front of me. A herd of heliopaths is charging right toward me. And no one believed me when I said they were real.


	5. Chapter 5

I run. That is the only thing I can do. There is nothing that can stop a pack of charging heliopaths. I look back frantically thinking for a way I could possibly get out of their way. The fire is starting to light some of the trees on fire. I'm trapped. This is how I'm going to die.

"Aguamenti!" I scream. The jet of water goes straight into the wall of fire. Where they meet steam forms. The heat from the fire is evaporating the water before it can even do anything. I keep on running hopping that the heliopaths will soon be tired out. When I reach a clearing the heliopaths trot around in a wide circle surrounding the area with fire but not coming toward me anymore. I notice through the thick black smoke that there is someone laying on the ground having a coughing fit. I walk over to them as silently as I can. This person could be a possible ally or a terrible threat. The pale face of Pansy Parkinson comes into focus. The fire of rage is alive in my chest. This girl had made my life a living hell at Hogwarts. I have no mercy for her. She looks up at me in surprise. I run over to her and kick her in the gut. She doubles over and starts coughing. She drops her wand and I snap it in half.

"Avada kedavra." I say scornfully. I can see the fear in her eyes by the light given off from the flash of green. The cannon fires. I'm in survival mode.

The heliopaths have left and I walk out of the clearing. I set out most of the larger fires with water from my wand. I killed and I didn't feel remorse. Not after what they did to Neville.

I walk through the forest trying to find a good place to make camp so I can attend to some of the wounds I have acquired during the ordeal with the heliopaths. Just some minor burns and small cuts that I easily heal using magic. As I'm making camp I hear two people talking. I recognize the heavy accent of one and the swooning voice of another. It's Victor Krum and Cedric Diggory. I climb a tree near to me so I can get a better view. They have a camp set up and it seems like they've been there for a while. There are beds made of leaves, twigs, and other things found in the woods along with a fire pit with a large pot over it. I'm assuming they got the pot from sponsors. They are arguing about something.

"You need to forget about her Cedric, she died on the first day. There is no use mourning over her anymore. She is gone." Victor says in his thick accent. I assume they are talking about Fleur. It would make sense that the three Triwizard champions would form an alliance.

"I don't know about you, but I can't just forget about someone dying. It isn't that easy!" Cedric is clearly very upset. His face is tear streaked. I've always thought that he had a secret thing with Fleur. An unspoken commitment. Like Neville and I.

"Well you need to get over it as soon because we need to move or else someone will find us. We've been here for three days!" Victor is getting agitated and has drew his wand. Cedric notices and draws his own.

"I can't Victor. It isn't as easy for me as it is for you!" Cedric has his wand pointed defensively at Victor. Victor lets out and aggravated scream. Sparks start flying from the tip of his wand. This is getting dangerous.

"Expelliarmus!" Cedric shouts trying to protect himself from Victor's anger. He misses though and now Victor is not holding back. He shoots several stunning spells at Cedric but all of them miss. They begin to duel with ferocity. Spells are flying everywhere and I have to duck a couple times to avoid getting hit by some especially off course ones. A full body bind curse hits Cedric and he gets stiff as a board and falls over. Unfortunately his head hits a rock and there is a gruesome crack. Blood starts to seep out very quickly. Victor runs over to him and tries to heal him. It won't work so he just holds him and talks to him. I'm not sure what he says because he is only whispering but the two of them remind me of Neville and I. This is what the Games do. Tear friends apart and make them watch each other die. A cannon fires. Cedric is gone. Victor screams, but in agony instead of aggravation this time. He starts gathering all the things they have set up at their camp and piles them on top of Cedric he points his wand at the pile and lights it on fire. He is having a funeral for Cedric, but the fire grows to quickly and the grass and trees around him start to ignite. I jump down so I can help put them out, but Victor gets defensive immediately. He starts shooting spells and I have no choice but to fire back. We are in a duel surrounded by flames. I'm getting tired of fire.


	6. Chapter 6

Victor is going for blood. I doubt he has any idea who I am. Our paths never crossed during his short time at Hogwarts.

"My name is Luna! I'm friends with Harry. You know Harry Potter. He was in the Triwizard tournament with you! I'm trying to help!" I scream as I dodge the spells, hexes, and curses he is throwing at me. I try to back away from him but I get too close to the raging fires and burn my leg. I shoot stunning curse after stunning curse at him in an attempt to incapacitate him.

"You think just because you say you are friends with Harry I'll trust you unquestionably? I'm not that dumb!" He screams back, his barrage of spells are not lightening up. The duel continues for quite some time. I lose track of how long we've been fighting. It is impossible to tell which one of us would win.

I send a myriad of spells at him in quick succession, and although he can block all of them he has backed up several steps and is now dangerously close to the fire. I manage to hit him with a full body bind hex and his arms and legs snap together and he falls backwards into the fire behind him. He tries to let out a scream but his jaw is held together by the hex. I run forward in an attempt to pull him out, but the fire is too hot. I walk away from the campsite, the flames, and Victor's burning corpse. After walking another mile I finally hear Victor's cannon fire.

As night falls I start to set up my camp, but something unexpected happens. Bellatrix Lestrange's cold and cruel voice echoes throughout the whole arena.

"Attention tributes! Tomorrow at dawn there will be a feast at the Cornucopia!" She is laughing as she finishes the announcement. That cruel laugh will haunt me all night.


	7. Chapter 7

I wake up before the sun rises. I decide I am going to see what the feast has to offer. I'm sure it will be of some use to me. I start walking around the the edge of the forest. When the Cornucopia comes into sight I see a table with bags on it. The bags all have the name of the tribute they are meant for on them. They also vary greatly in size. I notice mine is the smallest. I'm slightly discouraged by the size, but then I think of Ginny. She is small but no one ever wants to be on the other end of her bat-bogey hex.

As I am about to run for my bag is see one of the Weasley twins sprint out to the Cornucopia. He is about to grab the bag but he stares in horror at something inside the Cornucopia. He collapses to the ground. I have no idea if he is dead until the cannon goes off. I only know of one thing that can kill someone with so much ease. A basilisk slithers out of the Cornucopia and positions itself right in front of the bags. The other twin runs out of the forest to go see his brother. As he reaches the giant snake he realizes the he can't get around it so he lunges at his brothers body in an attempt to cover it. The basilisk catches him in his mouth and throws his limp body across the open field. Another cannon fires. The Weasley twins are dead, but I swear I can still hear their laughter.

Across the field someone lets out a horrified scream. Ginny comes flying out of the woods tears streaming down her face. She is carrying a weapon, but I've never seen anything like it before. It's one of the muggle ones that was in the Cornucopia. She points it at the basilisk and pulls her arm back. When she lets go an arrow goes flying right into the snakes eye. It starts screeching and thrashing around, but Ginny looks at it unfazed. She lets more arrows come flying from her weapon. First the basilisk goes blind, then it starts to bleed from the several wounds on its body. It still hasn't died though, and Ginny realizes that she can't kill it from afar, so she runs straight at it. She pulls out one of the arrows, but doesn't get ready to shoot. This time she jumps up and plunges it into the basilisk's neck while screaming her brothers' names. The basilisk starts to sway and then falls with a huge crash. It is dead. Ginny Weasley killed the basilisk for her brothers.

As Ginny gets up from the ground I notice she is holding her arm. There is a bite mark. The basilisk got her. She falls down and tries to crawl to the trees, but I see Draco and Goyle running out to here. Their wands are drawn. I sprint out to her as fast as I can.

"We're going to kill you Weasley, and your brother! Think of the money your parents can save!" Draco says just as I reach Ginny. Unfortunately for them Ginny is tougher than anyone expects. She gets up as she takes her wand out and stared unblinkingly into Draco's eyes.

"Stupefy," Ginny shouts. The spell goes flying right at Goyle but he dives out of the way. Draco turns to me and starts hurling spells while Goyle gets up and battles Ginny. As we're fighting I'm more concerned with making sure Ginny is okay with her bite wound than I am with Draco. can see her starting to fade away. The color in her face is going. My heart starts racing. If she dies right now I won't be able to get away from Draco and Goyle alone.

"Petrificus Totalus!" I scream. Draco gets hit square in the chest and his body goes stiff as board. I look at Ginny and I know she is going to give up soon. Her body is having trouble fighting the venom.

"Diffindo" She says weakly with a long sweeping motion of her arm. The spell hits Goyle and slices his throat. He coughs and then falls to the ground. A cannon fires. Goyle is dead. Ginny falls into my arms and I drag her into the mouth of the Cornucopia.

"Thank you," I whisper. Tears are filling up my eyes. I clench them shut and hope I can control my emotions in front on Ginny. She was always so strong and I don't want to seem weak in front of her.

"You're welcome," She whispers back with a huge smile on her face. She reaches up and hugs me. She lets out a quiet sob and then lays back down on the ground. She lets out a sigh of relief as death comes to claim her.


	8. Chapter 8

I kiss Ginny on the forehead, grab my bag, and run to the cliffs as quickly as I can. The cliffs might offer better protection than the forest. I find a little cave and settle in. I open the bag to find a tiny vial of felix felicis. I know it can be of help to me later so I stash it away. I'm not sure what I'm going to do next so I just wait out the day in the cave.

As night falls the faces of the fallen light the night sky. First comes Lavender Brown. She must've died during the feast after I left. Then Goyle. When I see him I'm filled with a flood of rage. Fred and George light the sky next, both with huge grins on their faces. I can't help but giggle when I see them regardless of tears forming in my eyes. Ginny's face is last, and when I see her I start sobbing. After her face is gone I'm still sobbing. I cry for the rest of the night and only stop when something nuzzles my arm. I look up to see a full grown thestral standing beside me. I wonder how many people can see thestrals because of the Games. We've all had to face death regardless if we wanted to or not. The thestral lays down next to me and we fall asleep together. It's such a peaceful creature, like death itself.

When the sun rises I realize something. There are only five tributes left. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and I. Voldemort is going to force us together soon. He wants a good fight for the finale. I have to go face three of my best friends, and my worst enemy.


	9. Chapter 9

I notice smoke coming from the forest. Almost all of the trees are up in flames. Voldemort is trying to bring us together; flush out anyone that is in the forest and bring them to the Cornucopia. Unfortunately if he is flushing people out of the forest it means he is going to flush me and whoever else is in the cliffs out as well. I run toward the Cornucopia. I want to be as far away from the cliffs as I can when whatever tragedy Voldemort is planning happens.

As my feet hit the ground I notice huge cracks forming. Small bits of rock start to fall down the cliff soon followed by a large boulder that land right where I had been moments before. My heart rate goes up as I get struck on the cheek by a rock and am almost thrown of the side of the cliff. There is no way I am going to be able to get out of this alive. I frantically check my pockets for the little vial of felix felicis that is sure to be my survival. Clutching to the rock next to me I find it and chug it as quickly as possible.

Parts of the cliff are giving away around me, but with the liquid luck I can navigate it easily. As I get to the bottom the last massive piece of rock that is still standing crumbles to nothing sending a cloud of dust over the arena. I cannot see anything so I wonder aimlessly with my arms out in front of me and my eyes jammed closed to what I hope is the Cornucopia. My hand meets the woven metal of the mouth of the giant horn where I pull myself inside. The smoke is thinner in here and I can see better. An outline is huddled in the back of the Cornucopia. As I approach him or her a wand is pointed at me. I jump back as quickly as I can, but instead of a spell being shot at me the wand tip lights. I can see it is Hermione. I crawl over to her and embrace her tightly.

"Where are Ron and Harry?" I whisper frantically.

Her eyes are brimming with tears as she say "Harry got separated from Ron and I when we were running from the cliffs, and Ron," She lets out a whimper before going on, "Ron was struck in head while the two of us were running." She falls into my arms her body shaking with sobs. "I held him. I held him while he died. I couldn't do anything about it. I..." She couldn't speak anymore. I just stroke her head. There is no consoling someone who has just lost someone close to them. Ron was ripped from Hermione just as Neville was ripped from me.

Another person came stumbling into the Cornucopia coughing from the cloud of dust that was just now beginning to fade. His features come into view slowly. First a mess of hair, then a pair of broken glasses, and finally his piercing green eyes. Harry has found us. With the three of us together we could take down Draco for sure.

We walk out of the Cornucopia ready to face Draco with Harry in the middle and Hermione and I on either side. Draco is standing right across from us.

"Oh Granger! It looks like you've been crying. Did something happen to Weasley? Is he dead?" Malfoy laughed coldly. I look over at Hermione. Her fist is clenching and unclenching. She is grinding her teeth and I can tell she is ready to go at Draco. Harry puts on arm on her shoulder and gives her a warning look, but she shakes her head and runs at Draco anyway. Harry tries to grab her arm to stop her but I don't let him. She needs to do this. Just as I had wanted to kill Pansy for Neville dying she wants to kill Draco for Ron. I know how it feels so I let her go.

Draco and Hermione are in a fierce duel, neither one showing signs of letting up. Spell after spell flies between the two of them, a couple getting dangerously close to their targets. Suddenly Draco fires a disarming charm right at Hermione. Her wand goes flying out of her hand, but she doesn't break eye contact with Draco. Instead she runs at him unarmed, first punching him in the face then kneeing him in the groin. As Draco hunches over Hermione pushes him to the ground with a savage look in her eye. She kick his wand out of his hand and start hitting any part of him she can get at. Tears are pouring down her face and she is screaming at the top of her lungs. She stands up with a look of horror on her face as she realizes what she has done. Out of the blue Draco jumps up and strikes Hermione in the side of the head with a rock. She falls to the ground, but her chest is still rising and falling. Harry lets out a strangled scream and goes after Draco. I hurry to Hermione's side.

"I shouldn't have done it, I shouldn't have attacked him," She says quickly "Draco isn't the one I should be mad at. It's Voldemort. Draco is just as much a victim of the Games as we are, regardless that he is a Slytherin."

"You're right Hermione. Voldemort is the only one to blame for all these deaths." I realize that I took my anger out on Pansy. I was not mad at her. I was mad at Voldemort, because he has pitted us together in the Games. None of this is Pansy's fault, or Goyle's, or Crabbe's, not even Draco's. This entire thing is to blame on Voldemort.

"I'm sorry Luna," Hermione whispers, "I'm sorry for doing that to Draco."

"You shouldn't be," I whisper back, "My father always used to tell me that the female of the species is fiercer than the male, and it's true with you. You are fierce and that's why you acted the way you did. But just because you are fierce does not mean you still are not the brightest witch of your age." Hermione smiles at me as she takes her last breath. The life goes out of her and the cannon fires. With her not only goes her life and friendship, but her wisdom.


End file.
